Keeping Teeth Bright
Why colour gradually returns, how to top up using the trays you already have, which foods, drinks and habits make a difference, and the part hygiene visits play.
How Do I Keep My Teeth White Once I've Had Them Whitened?
Keep your custom trays and use a few nights of top-up gel when you notice the shade slipping. In everyday life, drink water after tea, coffee or red wine, use a straw for cold dark drinks, avoid smoking and vaping, and keep up your hygiene visits so surface stain gets polished away. Most people find a result then lasts well beyond a year. Home whitening at our Lanark practice is £350, or £315 for plan members.
Why Colour Creeps Back
Whitening breaks apart the coloured molecules within the enamel and dentine, and that change doesn't just wear away. Instead, fresh stain slowly builds up from the same things that discoloured your teeth to begin with, such as tea, coffee, red wine and tobacco. The result doesn't fade so much as gradually darken again.
For most people this takes at least a year, often several. A smoker who gets through four mugs of tea a day will notice it sooner than a non-smoker who mainly drinks water. We record the shade you reach at your review, so you have something to compare against in future.
Top-Ups with the Trays You Own
Your trays are the most valuable part of the kit, because they're made for your teeth and nobody else's. Keep them in their case, rinse them in cool water after each use (hot water can distort them) and brush them gently. Top-up gel is available from the practice.
A top-up normally means a few nights of wear, not a full course. Many people do one ahead of a wedding, a milestone birthday or a holiday. Stick to the wear time we gave you, because longer sessions tend to bring sensitivity rather than whiter teeth. If a new crown, filling or bonding means the trays no longer sit snugly, we can take a fresh scan and make a new pair.
Need New Trays, or Ready to Start?
Your whitening consultation at our Lanark practice is free.
What Stains Most
| Culprit | Why it stains | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Tea, coffee and red wine | Full of tannins and strong pigments | Drink some water afterwards |
| Cola and other dark fizzy drinks | Coloured, and acidic enough to roughen enamel | Use a straw and have them with food |
| Curries, turmeric, soy and tomato sauces | Intense pigments | Rinse with water, or end with something crunchy such as salad |
| Berries, beetroot and dark juices | Rich natural colour | Follow with water |
| Smoking and vaping | Tar, nicotine and certain flavourings | Quit, or cut down as far as you can |
Stain comes in two layers. Surface stain sticks to the outside of the tooth and to plaque, and it comes off with good brushing and hygiene visits. Deeper discolouration builds up gradually inside the tooth over years, and whitening is what reverses it. Acidic food and drink makes both worse, because it etches the surface and gives pigment more to grip.
Daily Habits That Help
- Drink water alongside coffee or wine, or right after
- Sip cold dark drinks and juices through a straw
- Wait an hour before brushing after fruit juice, cola or wine, since acid softens enamel for a short time
- Brush with fluoride toothpaste twice a day and clean between your teeth with floss or interdental brushes once a day, because stain takes hold in plaque
- Give up smoking or vaping if you can, as very little fades a result faster
- Clean your trays, retainers and night guards, which collect stain as well
Whitening toothpastes are useful in moderation. They lift some surface stain between cleans, but they don't alter the colour inside the tooth, and the more abrasive ones can wear enamel or dull bonding if used daily. Two or three times a week is enough.
How Hygiene Visits Help the Colour
A professional clean removes stain that a toothbrush misses, especially between teeth and along the gumline. Airflow lifts stain and plaque with a jet of warm water, air and fine powder rather than scraping, and most people find it comfortable. Our hygienist can show you where stain is collecting and explain why.
For 30 minutes with the hygienist you'll pay £70, rising to £100 when Airflow is used. Members of our dental plans have these visits covered, for £24.10 a month on Plan A or £40.16 on Plan B. Booking a hygiene visit just before you top up is worthwhile too, because the gel then works on freshly cleaned enamel.
Fillings, Bonding and Crowns
None of these respond to whitening gel, so the aim is to keep them looking in step with your own teeth. Porcelain and ceramic resist staining well. Composite is slightly more porous, so it gains most from the habits above and an occasional polish. If an older filling or bonding looks darker than the teeth around it after a top-up, polishing or refreshing it usually solves the problem.
Thinking about bonding or veneers? Whiten first, give the colour about two weeks to settle, then have the new work matched to it. Our guide to whitening before bonding sets out why the order matters.
When to Start Again From Scratch
It's safe to whiten again under a dentist's supervision, although most people only ever need the occasional top-up. If it's been several years, you've lost your trays or they no longer fit after other dental work, book a consultation. Before anything else, your teeth and gums are examined, any decay or gum disease is dealt with, and you and your dentist settle on a shade that's achievable.
A fresh course of Boutique home whitening costs £350, or £315 for plan members, and it comes free with every Invisalign or bonding package. 1 UK law requires whitening to be prescribed by a dentist, so if it's offered to you anywhere other than a dental practice, it's illegal.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.